Key case



Jan. 30, 1928.

w. R. BUXTON.

KEY CASE.

FILED mac-7,1921.

INVENTOR MWM BY 7M ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 30, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WARNER R. BUXTON, OF LONGMEADOW, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR '1'0 BUXTON, INCORPORATED, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

KEY CASE.

Application filed December 7, 1921. Serial No. 520,591.

To all whom it may cmwern:

Be it known that I, WARNER R. BUxroN. a citizen of the United States, residing at Longmeadow, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Key Cases, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cases for keys and the like and more particularly to cases of the general type disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,261,692, granted to me on April 2, 1918. v

Cases of this particular type are made up from a strip of flexible material, such as leather or the like, the end portions of which are fiolded in overlapping relation over the central portion to form an enclosure. The end portions, or flaps, are secured together by suitable means, such as a. glove fastener, which is usually applied centrally between the upper and lower ends of the case. Such ends are open but the key holders, being pivoted to the central portion of the case, are prevented from passing out of the case by the two overlapping flaps which bear down upon them. The key holders are usually mounted upon a nonflexible member which extends across the central portion of the case near its upper end and-holds it in the desired fiat form and the ends of this member lie approximately coincident with the lines of fold of said flaps and prevent the flaps from folding upon other lines which are closer together. At the lower end of the case there is nothing to hold the central portion of the case in flat form nor to prevent the flaps from folding along other lines which are closer together than the usual lines of fold. Consequently, if pressure is brought to bear on the sides of the case (defined by the lines of fold) and near the lower end thereof, the back or central portion of the case Will bend rearwardly bringing the lines of fold of the flaps closer together at their lower ends and making them converge downwardly instead of remaining parallel. When this happens, the upper ends of the flaps are caused to separate and bulge out from the key holder supporting member, ma a large opening through which some of the' keys and their holders may drop out. That is, the flaps being pivotally connected intermediate their ends by the glove fastener, the inward movement of the flaps at their lower ends causes a separation of the flaps at their upper ends.

This invention is concerned with the prov1sion of means for overcoming this difficulty and has for its object to provide a member to lie between the lines of fold of the case and keep them pro erly spaced and thus keep the case and tizips in substantially flat form. This member resists pressure brought to bear on the sides of the case and tends to prevent the sides being brought toward one another to an extent suificient to open up the top of the case and allow the holders and keys to fall out.

A preferred means of accomplishing this: result consists of amember substantially coextensive in shape with the back of the case, which member is suitably fastened to the back, as along its upper edge. With this arrangement the key holdersupportingdevice may be fastened to this member and the rivets, by which the fastening is accomplished and which usually show from the outside of the case, are concealed.

The member described, if fastened merely along its upper edge, may be swung outwardly when desired and the back of the.

member may be utilized incidentally to form part of a pocket for the reception of any desired articles, particularly license and registration papers, which if kept with the keys are sure to be available when needed.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following description and in the illustrative embodiment of the invention in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a key case embodying my invention, the flaps thereof being shown in open position;

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the flaps shown in closed position;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the case; 1

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary rear view with the case largely broken away to reveal the spacing member; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a key case illustrating the condition which the spacing member is designed to overcome.

Referring to these drawings: The case proper consists of a strip 10 of a flexible material, such as leather or the like, and the end portions 11 and 12 of strip are adapted i to be folded along the lines 13 and 14 over .the central portion 15 and to-be secured inoverlapping relation by any suitable means, such as a glove fastener, of which the male and female sections are shown at 16 and 17 respectively. The fastening devices 16 and .17 'are' usually-located centrally between the upper and lower edges of the flaps, as shown. Extending across the central portion 15, 'constitutin'g the back of the key case, and. dis-. posed near its upper edge is .a'fnember v18, which is not readily flexible. and is usually of thin metal, and from this member a series 1 a of key holders 19, in the shape of snap hooks,

are pivotallysuspended. This member is supported by the back 15, in a manner which -will later be described in detail, and its ends lie substantially coincident with the lines of fold 13 and 14. The member 18 prevents bending of the back 15 near its upper edge, causes .it to remain in fiat form, and prevents the flaps 11 and 12 from being bent upon lines of fold which are any nearer together than those shown.

Ordinarily, no means is provided at the lower end of the easel to prevent its sides 1 from being forced toward one another as the result ofpressure applied in the direc tion of the, arrows 20 and at the general 10- cation shown in Fig. 5. 1 Such pressure causes the back 15 to bulge rearwardly and the lines of fold are brought considerably closer together. The flaps 11 and 12, being fastened together centrally and in a'pivotal manner, an inward movement of the flaps at their lower ends causes the upper ends to move in a reverse manner and to spread apart'and bulge outwardly-from the back 15,

.leaving a relatively large opening at the top of the. case through which keys and their holders 19 may escape and also releasing these keys and holders from the restraining influence normally exerted by the folded flaps.

As a means for remedying this condition,

* I provide a member 22, Which is secured to member and back 15, althou h according" the back 15 and-has one part, atleast, which is of a width substantially equal to that of the back and which is adapted to lie between the aforesaid lines of foldnear the lower portion of the case when the flaps are closed and resist any pressure ordinarily applied on the sides of the case. This member 22 is, by preference, substantially of the same size and shape as the back and secured to the back merely along its upper edge as indicated by stitchings'23 (Fig. 3) which pass through an inturned end 2 1 of the to some features of the invention the member 22 may be otherwise formed and fas tened and still perform the desired function. The member 22 may be made of various materials, as desired, although I prefer to make it of leather or like material, havresult desired.

ing therequisite stiifnessto accomplish the .T he key holder supporting plate 18 is fastened, as by.rivets 25, tothe member 22 and 'thus these rivets, which ordinarily pass" through back 15, are concealed and the external appearance. of the case materially'improved. In addition to the improvement in appearance, the concealing of the rivets avoids a possible source of trouble Whichmight otherwise occur .due t5) the heads of the rivets catching upon the clothing, particularly the lining of the pocket in which the case is carried.

To further utilize the member 22, it may be made to form onewall of a pocket in which various articles may be carried, such as license and registration papers for example. While this object may. be accom plished in various ways, I prefer to provide on the back of member 22 a somewhat shorter stri 26 which is secured to the member along t e three coincident edges, as indicated by the stitchings 27, thus affording a pocket for the reception of papers, such. as those indicated at p. A Window- 28 maybe provided for the pocket, as in the member 26, if desired. The strip 26, in addition to its use in forming the pocket, reenforces the member 22 and increases its stifi'ness, aiding it inits Work of keeping the case in flat form and resisting pressure applied to the sides of .the case. 1

/ While the member 22 may be made up in other ways and-mounted, on the key case in other ways and still function in the described way and incidentally provide a pocket, the described arrangement is important and preferred in that the member is effective from end'to end of the case and a maximum area of pocket space is afforded.

.The invention has been disclosed herein, in' an embodiment at present preferred, for

illustrative 'purposes,'but the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description.

What 1 claim is- 1. A case for keys and the like, comprising, a strip of flexible material having a back portion and a flap on each side there of, said flaps being foldable in overlapping relation over said back portion, a series of holders for keys and the, like supported from said back portion near the upper edge Ill back portion and a flap on each side thereof,

said fiaps being foldable in overlapping relation over said back portion, a member supported from the back and extending across the upper edge thereof with its ends substantially coincident with the lines of fold of said flap, a series of holders for keys and thelike carried'by said member, and a reenforcing member of substantially the same width as the back portion and secured thereto so that one end thereof extends across the back portion near its lower edge.

3. A case for keys and the like, comprising. a strip of flexible material havlng a back portion and a flap on each side thereof, said flaps being foldable in overlapping relation over said back portion, a member of substantially the same size and shape as the back portion and connected thereto at one end only, a series of holders for keys and the like, a support for said holders secured to said member near its upper edge, and a pocket provided in said member.

4. In a case for keys and the like, consisting of a strip of flexible material having its two end portions foldable over the central portion to form an enclosure, means for supporting keys or the like within said enclosure including a part secured to the central portion near its upper edge which part tends to prevent bending of the c'entral portion along its upper edge, a member secured to the central portion and having a part substantially equal in width thereto to minimize bending of the central portion near its lower edge, and a pocket provided in said member.

5. A case for keys and the like, comprising, a. strip of flexible material having a back portion and a flap on each side thereof, said flaps being foldable in overlapping relation over said back portion, a member of substantially the same size and shape as the back portion and secured thereto along its upper edge, a series of holders for keys and the like, a support for said holders secured to said member near its upper edge, and a stiffening stri fsecured to said member and cooperating thi'e'rewith to afford a pocket.

6. In a key case, in which the ends of a strip of flexible material are foldable over the central portion thereof, to afford an enclosure and a series of key holders are supported by said central portion near one end thereof by means which resist pressure on the sides of the case along the lines of fold of said flaps at such end, means mounted on said central portion and adapted to lie between the sides of the case near its lower end'when the flaps are closed and keep them properly spaced.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature.

WARNER R. BUXTON. 

